Futurama: "Calculon 2.0" Review

Hail science!

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July 25, 2013

Warning: Full spoilers from the episode to follow.

One year after the demise of Calculon in Futurama's "The Thief of Baghead," everyone's favorite robot actor made a comeback appearance in this week's "Calculon 2.0." The episode started off strong with a Calculon tribute service, where loyal fans "turned out by the several" -- including Fry and Bender -- offering a fun recap of the previous events, while also segueing into the new All My Circuits, which had seemingly lost its charm since Calculon's death -- though, it remained just as addictive, with a fresh blasé protagonist.

There were some great moments towards the beginning of this storyline, as Bender and Fry discovered that they could bring Calculon back to life. From Bender's casual on-air grave robbing to Fry's guessing game with the Robot Devil ("M!" "Is he right?"), these first few scenes were packed with funny quips and jokes. This was definitely a plus, considering that the Bender/Fry dynamic had been a little spotty this season. Here, though, it felt more like classic shenanigans for the buddy duo.

The Professor's satanic science sequence was another highlight this week. ("It's like magic, but with electricity.") I got a big kick out of the quick back-to-back sight gags including the "protective suits," the "wireless network" pentagram and the mechanical goat "sacrifice" -- all with Hermes protesting the ritual's scientific accuracy. ("You be quiet!")

As for the return of Calculon, well, it had its ups and downs. The overall storyline was amusing enough, as Calculon started at the bottom ("But FOX already said no!") and worked his way back up to All My Circuits. There were a few drab moments, however, most notably the HAL 9000 bit poking fun at 2001: A Space Odyssey -- but then again, I guess that might have been the point, since it was met with terrible reviews. ("'Worst Play in History' -- there's some ambiguity there.")

I did enjoy Calculon's dynamic with Leela this week and her making Calculon realize just how far he'd fallen. ("Now I'm nothing but a mere peasant... or at best a viscount.") I also thought it was quite appropriate that, in the end, Calculon died a second time after proving his worth as an actor. As Calculon put it, "Always leave them wanting more, that's the secret."

While this episode did provide a fun (and presumably final) storyline for Calculon, it did feel somewhat rehashed, especially since "The Thief of Baghead" tackled a similar arc for the character last year. Still, Calculon has always been one of Maurice LaMarche's best characters on the show and remains a fan-favorite, so you can't really blame the writers for wanting to revisit the character one last time before the series ends.

So, with that, we bid a fond farewell to our golden thespian, may he rest in crumpled pieces...

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love by following @Max_Nicholson on Twitter, or MaxNicholson on IGN.